The present invention relates to a robot system for cleaning inside ducts by removing dust, dirt, etc. attached and accumulated in air-conditioning duct, exhaust air duct, dust collecting duct, etc. in factories, buildings, etc.
Conventional type ducts for discharging air or gas used in such facilities as restaurants, lunch rooms, etc. where a large quantity of oil is used have such problems that oil, dust, and dirt are accumulated in the duct within a short time, and this often causes fires or other problems.
In a clean room used in semiconductor industry and in a vacuum packaging room in food industry, it is desirable to create conditions where dust, dirt, bacteria, etc. are eliminated. However, even when the rooms are thoroughly cleaned, problems arise that dust, dirt, bacteria, etc. enter the rooms through ducts.
In the past, the cleaning operation of the ducts has been performed in various procedures as described below, but satisfactory method suitable for practical application has not yet been established for perfectly cleaning the inside of the duct. At present, various methods are being attempted by trial and error as follows:
(1) An air hose is inserted into duct, and high pressure air is sent into the air hose and is injected, and dust, dirt, etc. are removed by the injected high-speed air stream. PA1 (2) An object like a streamer is sent into duct under pressure by a fan, and by hitting the inner side of the duct by the streamer-like object, accumulated and attached dust, dirt, etc. are detached and collected. PA1 (3) A number of holes are prepared on the duct, and a hose of air cleaner is inserted through each of the holes, and internal portion of the duct is cleaned up by manual operation. PA1 (4) A number of holes are formed on duct with equal spacings. A device such as valve is mounted on each of the holes, and a hose with small diameter is inserted into the hole, and the hose is jerked and moved around by high pressure air to detach and remove dust, dirt, etc., and these are discharged to outside through a vinyl hose or the like via duct outlet. PA1 (5) A motorized robot is placed into duct, and inner side of the duct is cleaned up using rotary brushes mounted on the robot.
According to the method described in (1) above, it is impossible to perfectly detach and remove dust, dirt, etc. accumulated in duct over a long time using high-pressure air, turbulent air stream, etc. In particular, it is often difficult to perform the cleaning operation in case there is a damper or a branched portion of the duct.
In the method described in (2) above, the diameter of the duct is reduced from a position closer to the air-conditioner toward the blowing outlet on the duct. Because a damper (for volume adjustment) is provided at the middle of the duct, the stream-like object must be repeatedly inserted, and this is not very efficient. Also, in the case dust has been accumulating for a long period and is firmly attached, the effect to remove dust is very low.
According to the method (3) as described above, it is possible to clean a duct with large diameter, while 70 to 80% of the ducts currently in use have a smaller diameter. This method is not very efficient in case of a duct with small diameter. Also, the cleaning operation cannot be performed due to restriction from architectural reasons.
According to the method (4) as described above, high-pressure air is sent through a device such as valve and a hose with small diameter is moved and jerked around to detach the dust. However, it is not possible to have air flow moving at high speed, and the effect of detaching and removing the accumulated dust is low. Moreover, if the vinyl hose leading from the outlet to the outside is removed, dust may scatter all over the room, and much labor and time may be required to eliminate the trouble, and this is not recommendable.
The method described in (5) above is advantageous in that it is possible to partially record cleaning condition. However, in case there is an obstacle such as damper in the duct, some portion of the duct may not be cleaned up using the motorized robot due to the size of the duct, and this method lacks suitability for universal application.